Homecoming
by AllTimeNatalie
Summary: Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. LartenxArra. Rating may go up
1. Journal

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 1- Journal **

"Arra? Arra are you in here?" Mr Crepsley asked, spotting her journal on the hammock and scanning the interior of the cavern. Ambling over, still weary of the whereabouts of Arra, he turned the page and began to read the scrawled text. "It still haunts me even now… the sick mind of which he was horribly graced with…" Mr Crepsley read bits aloud and when his mate arrived at the doorway.

"Larten." Her question came out more like a statement and after he had thawed from the shock of terror, he threw her journal to one side and smiled.

"I was looking for you and when I could not find you, I waited here for you." His voice held a questioning tone throughout and sounded like he was asking himself a question.

"You should have come and found me then. What is it?" She glanced down at the empty space where her journal used to inhabit then glanced back up at Larten. "I see you found my journal." Her words were low and held an air of confusion.

"Yes, Arra why would you leave that be?" Mr Crepsley asked insistently, raising an eyebrow.

"You were not there, it is difficult and I wish I could explain it but…" Crepsley let a feeble smile wipe onto his face, swiping a hand down her cheek, he urged her to continue. "But it's hard. I cannot let my past return because it hurts too much." Arra was American; she was born and raised by her parents. Her parents argued a lot. Her father denied he had a daughter because he found it shameful to father her. He always wanted a son and because she had never been shown that love she needed, she had grown up feeling hollow feelings, feeling pain differing from lust. Her life was ruthless, she worked day and night for hours on end and when she did finally return home, her father was not there and her mother was in floods of tears on the kitchen floor screaming for her father's return. Life was meaningless, pointless and cruel. This was what Arra Sails had learnt when she was seven. This is what her dad had showed her, told her, taught her. He manipulated her mind and when she grew up she resented that fact the most. It happened everyday and by the young age of thirteen she was used to it. She told her it would all be fine but deep down inside she knew it wouldn't. Her mother past away when she was at the age of seventeen and so she ran away, escaped her malicious life for a better one. She was found by a vampire after five years when she was twenty two alone in the rain with tears streaming down her eyes. She hated her life but she never admitted it. She didn't want reality to catch up with her.

"Is that the last you saw of America?" He asked, running a hand down her arm.

"Yes, I never went back, I could never face it. After what happened back when I was Seventeen I could never return." Her mother didn't pass away peacefully, she was murdered, brutally murdered and that was a secret she had never told anyone. "After what my father did I never forgave him. I never got that childhood I dreamed of but that is all in the past now Larten, we must forget."

"No Arra, you cannot forget because you cannot keep bottling your feelings up. Tell me what happened." His words laced with emotion and pity for Arra Sails, her tears scared him the most. She never cried, she was always the tough one who everyone could rely on and showing emotion was a deadly sin according to her. "Please, tell me."

"It was dark, I heard a scream from my mother's room and the darkness blurred my vision intensely but I didn't give up. When I pushed open the door, I saw a shadowy figure above her body, her lifeless body and it was horrible I should have stopped it. I could have stopped it." Her voice was strained and each word tangled with pain as she spoke. Sliding his arms around her, he sighed and held her close to him. "When his face was revealed in the moonlight I was almost sick. His teeth dripped with blood and I knew instantly from the way he looked at me with pure disgust that it was my dad. There was something different about him though, his eyes were red, sickly, bloody red and his hair and nails were too. His skin a pale colour of purple and looking back on it I was confused. I was confused as hell but now I know the truth Larten, my father betrayed me. He hunted humans for food, he was a Vampaneze."

"I am sorry Arra but you need to go back, you need to fight this nightmare or it will haunt you forever. I have heard you scream at night when you cannot get the memories out of your mind and I can help you but we must return to America." She let two confused tears tumble down her cheeks and nodded.

"You are quite right. I want to face this dead on and I will battle my fear." She buried her head in his chest and let more tears fall, in floods they dampened his shirt and he pulled her closer.

"You will be fine, I am here for you. You are quite safe now, we will set out tomorrow." His words were calming but she knew in the innermost part of her heart she would not be okay. When they crossed that border into America she would break down and the memories would flood her mind once more. She knew she needed him more than anything if they were to win this battle.

**To Be Continued… **

**A/N: **Please review my first chapter and I'll update ASAP.


	2. Memories ending in Blood

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx the italics are flashbacks.

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 2- Memories ending in Blood**

"Come on Larten, you're lagging behind." She teased, walking a little faster to make him fall back even more.

"That is because you are walking too fast. Please, Arra, Arra slow down, Arra." She broke into a sprint and tried to contain her laughter when Mr Crepsley began to jog.

"Okay, okay I will slow down." She giggled, stopping to match his pace when he caught up. "You are getting too old." She smiled, walking along side him.

"Age is merely but a number and you should remember that. Arra, was that here last time you were?" Mr Crepsley let out an ever so masculine squeal as they stared at a pile of bones. The skull was neatly laid on top; clearly the murder was quite an artist.

"No, no it wasn't. What is going on?" She asked, glaring up at the dusky red sky. Black clouds drifted across the sky, causing it to look even more eerie than it already did.

"I do not know. Is the sky usually that colour?" It was a full moon, last time that happened Arra and Mr Crepsley had sat out on Vampire Mountain staring at the stars. Except here in America, it was a starless sky; souls of the trapped dead drifted along side them, guarding their home and their bodies which were scattered along the highway. Something was different from her last visit all those years ago. She remembered when she was a child and her father took her walking along this same highway. It had a pathway back then and lush fields along side it. Her mum followed behind them, laughing and telling them to be careful and not to fall. That was back when it was okay, back before her father was driven away by insanity; back before her father betrayed her in the most horrifying way.

"I remember this road, from my childhood. Such good memories I have of back then. Larten, is that…?" Mr Crepsley followed her gaze to see a plain, uninteresting rock. "I could've sworn…never mind." When they arrived at Arra's old house, she sighed at the sight. Such bad thing had happened in there and now, being back there was like a blast of saddening memories.

"It is abandoned." He stated… that was Mr Crepsley's pointless fact of the day.

"You don't say. Maybe this is not such a good idea Larten, what if there is something in there?" She asked, well aware of how sceptical it made her sound.

"Arra, I assure you there is nothing in there. You have to face it one day. Whatever it was, whatever your father left behind we have to find it." She dropped her gaze at his words. As if she didn't already know that.

"What if he didn't leave something? What if my mother was just crazed because of what he had done when she told me through pained words?" Mr Crepsley took her in his arms and smiled.

"Arra, it was her dying wish and if you do not wish to keep it then I will keep it for you." Pushing open the front door they peered inside. A large, dust covered piano lay in the corner. She remembered when she used to play on that piano, reading the notes and transferring them in musical talent.

"_Hey Arra, what are you playing?" Her mother asked from behind her. _

"_Brahm's Lullaby, it calms me down." She smiled, her mother playing with her brown hair. _

"_Oh, I see. Your father will be home soon, why don't you play it for him?" Arra nodded and resumed playing the piano. Despite her young age, she was very musically talented and could play all sorts of classical music. When her father returned home, she played from him and he smiled, told her it was the best music he had ever heard. _

That was when he still loved her, when he wasn't ashamed of her. Sure, he must have had a little love left because he left her something, something precious but that small fraction of love was meaningless and what it did mean was all lies. He had deceived her, warped her mind in the cruellest way to despise her aunty and uncle, to hate her friends. She was only a young girl, she didn't understand what he was doing. That was all behind her now, all in the past. Now she had to save her hometown from utter destruction. She wondered if her dad was still a monster or if he'd died in battle. The air was dense in the house and nobody had lived there since her family. It had not been knocked down, no one cared to bother in that town. She wondered if her mother's souls still rested in that same room where her father had murdered her. In her mother and father's bedroom, the sheets were still blood covered, still had that tainted crimson colour embedded deep in them.

_Darkness, the block of vision didn't help blank out her hearing and she could still hear the screams from her mother's room. Her dad had left them so she was mothered by a single parent now. The shadows of a dark figure projected back onto the tiles as she stayed low and opened the door a little more. The black, shabby hair on the figure instantly rang a bell, her father. What was he doing? Trying to keep the gasp of horror deep under her breath, she placed a hand over her mouth and crept ever so slowly inwards to the bed where her dad's lips were coated with blood. _

"_Mother!" She screamed, soon realising her mistake. "What are you doing to her? I thought you'd left us alone now, I thought it was over!" She screamed, her dad hushing her and wiping away some blood. _

"_I'm sorry." He whispered, disappearing into thin air from vision. _

"_No, mother please hold on. What did he do?" Her mother coughed out large amounts of ruby liquid and pulled her only daughter closer. _

"_Your father, you must find him before he harms others and they end up like me. Forget me, go and find him. Be careful and I am sorry I could not stay with you to watch you grow up." Her mother's whispers became quieter and quieter until she rested forever. _

"_No, please no. All of those things he taught me, they were all lies. I know now he was wrong, he wasn't a God, he was a murderer, a monster. Mother please don't do this to me. I need you to help me through it. Mother!" She screamed, pulling her mother's dead body closer to her. _

"I need to keep that promise." Arra whispered, two crystal clear tears leaving tracks down her face.

"I know you are scared Arra, but I am here. You need not fear, I will follow you all the way." She nodded as he pulled her in closer, protecting her from the evil out there. She may not have wanted to believe it but there were things out there, bad things. Things she had to stop from wiping out America and he knew deep inside his heart she could do it.

"I need to understand why he did it." She cried into his chest. Being back in that house, seeing her mother's blood smudged across the sheets broke her heart.

"I know and I swear on pain of death we will find him, we will stop him and we will punish him for what he did all those years ago." His words were soft and he only wished he believed them himself. As long as Arra believed, as long as she saw the stars at night and the flowers embedded in the grass he knew, they would be fine as long as they were together.

**A/N: **Another chapter. Please review and I'll update ASAP. :D


	3. One Step Closer To Hell

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 3- One Step Closer to Hell **

The last of the evening sun had set and now only darkness drifted over the state of Alabama. The sky was still that murky red colour and when it was like that in America along with the hazy mist floating over the suburbs, it was pretty dark. Arra was still in the house, she had stayed there for shelter all night and it was hard. Their family pictures still hung on the walls, the ones in her mother's room still spattered with dried blood. It was raining, pretty hard and she could hear it bouncing off the windows. She remembered when she used to be a regular kid, when she lived a regular life with her parents. Back then, up until her mother's murder, she lived the regular life of any American kid. Her area of living was very 'Stepford Wives' esc. Her dad would disappear for hours at the local pub and her mother would work, clean and cook at home while she worked. She started work when she was five; working in factories doing mild stuff she was eligible to do. The air was cold, it always had been ever since that night when her world crumbled but that was all in the past now.

"Arra are you awake?" Mr Crepsley mumbled, breaking the ever growing silence which hung between them. She sat up, dried tears from the previous night still marking her cheeks.

"Yes, I am. Did you sleep well?" Her voice was low too in a mumble.

"Yes, I did though saying that I was so worn out from the previous night that I could have slept on a washing line." He joked, still not managing to make her smile.

"That makes one of us." She muttered under her breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing." She smiled. The last thing she wanted was Mr Crepsley getting overly worried. Standing up, she brushed off her clothes and turned to face him. They had been sleeping I her old living room seen as sleeping the bedroom was way to painful for her to grasp yet. Even being in the house hurt her more than anything else. Darkness seeped through the windows and doors, overcoming the rusted locks with great ease. "Well, I have faced my fear. Now, may we please get back to the mountain?" Her voice held hints of desperation but Mr Crepsley couldn't help but feel like something was wrong. A pained scream was heard from outside as Mr Crepsley rushed outside followed by Arra. When the breezy air hit them, it blew through Arra's hair and caused her to shiver. "Larten…" her voice was shaky and held hints of terror, "look over there." She pointed to a woman's body which lay in the middle of the sandy road. She was pale and by pale I mean drained of blood. Her hair was now a dull colour of brown and her eyes, her eyes had rolled back and were now plain, deathly white. Blood dripped from her leg wound, the remaining drops soaking into the sand and turning it crimson.

"Excuse me, can you hear me?" Mr Crepsley begged for her reply but got nothing more than silence. "She is gone, completely drained of blood." Arra nodded and assisted him in getting up. "We should go, go back to the mountain before this happens to us." Arra shook her head, still feeling for a pulse on the woman who lay on the floor.

"No I am not leaving. I cannot sit back and watch the people of my hometown perish." She whispered beneath strained tears.

"Arra, it is not fair for you to perish."

"Is this fair?" She asked in an unintentional scream. "Look at it Larten and tell me what you see." Tears began to trickle again down her cheeks. She understood where he was coming from, she should not risk her life but she had to. She could not just let the people of America die out because she was a coward. "I cannot keep hiding Larten, I have to stop this…and I think I know how."

"How?" Mr Crepsley asked desperately trying to search out the murderer.

"My father, before he left he gave me this. I've never used it and I never hoped to but now I think we must. We will be offered help when we get there. Answer me one thing Larten, do you fear death?" She refused to meet his terrified gaze so kept hers at tunnel vision.

"No why?"

"Good then we will have no problems. Off we go." She smiled, ambling forwards into the complete darkness. "Oh and you may need this, where we are going we need all of the protection we can get." She threw a silver chain with a shiny pentagram attached at him so he slid it round his neck and followed her.

"Where are we going?" He asked in a breathy tone.

"Have you ever been to hell?" When he shook his head, she nodded and slid her hand down his arm, grasping his hand in hers. The moon was strange that night, holding features of red at the top. She had read about that moon, a fingernail moon usually appearing on nights of great disaster.

**A.N: ** Please review and I'll update again soon. I'm really glad you all like it so far.


	4. Red Moonlight

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 4- Red Moonlight **

"Arra, I have noticed and it would seem the further into America we go, the less pedestrians seem to appear." His voice was distant, as though he could not keep his state of mind on one object at a time.

"This place was quite quiet when I lived here; I guess that is one characteristic it managed to maintain. Gazing up at the sky she noticed the moon, the red tip as prominent as a sore thumb. "Larten, have you ever seen the moon like that? I have read about it. A fingernail moon, Larten we are in danger." A silence hung between them, one soon broken by Mr Crepsley.

"You are just reading old wives tales. I am sure it is nothing. Come along now, let us investigate more." Mr Crepsley was enjoying the feeling of investigating. He felt as though he was part of an Agatha Christie novel and he was the legendary detective.

"I am not sure, what if it's something more." He shook his head, wrapping his hand around her wrist and dragging her forward.

"Come on, you are losing us valuable time." She forced a smile onto her face and looked back at the sky. Her gaze never left the moon and that is why she repeatedly walked into things. "Be careful Arra." Mr Crepsley smiled, helping her up once more.

"Yes, I am such a cluts aren't I?" She smiled.

"Yes now come along I think I see someone. Excuse me." Mr Crepsley called, really acting the part now. There was a rusted over sign at the end of the road which Arra could only just read.

"Larten that is not a someone, that is a something." Her voice trembled with fear as she spoke and Mr Crepsley soon realised that being high off adrenalin would get him nowhere. That was the thing with some murder mystery cases…the detective didn't always live to see justice in the end.

"Yes and whatever it is…I think it wants us to leave." Mr Crepsley whispered, the creature turning around and flashing menacing red eyes at them. "Arra get back… I will deal with this, run!" He shouted, Arra soon shaking her head.

"No, I am not leaving you Larten. We stand together, we fight together and if the worst comes to the worst then we die together but I am not leaving you." His eyes had a hint of desperation laced in with the look of lust.

"Arra, I cannot let you risk your life…" She cut him off before he could finish with a sharp look.

"And I can let you risk yours? No, no I am staying and I am fighting with you." The rain pelted them, making it harder to grasp their daggers. The creature began to advance and so did Mr Crepsley and Arra. "Luck." She whispered, Mr Crepsley repeating it as an almost whisper. It had purple skin and bright red locks of hair. Its eyes and nails too were a ruby, blood-like red. All of those added up to be one thing…a Vampaneze. It just stopped still, staring at them following their every move. "What is it doing?" She asked, whispering in his ear. Shaking his head was the silent way to say that he did not know and when he did, the Vampaneze instantly caught sight. He didn't take his eyes off it and so far it looked like Arra was right. The fingernail moon did mean something…it meant danger.

"Do not make any sudden moves." She nodded, edging slowly further forward. Mr Crepsley stayed put, trying to beacon her back but she seemed to close her mind to everything but the Vampaneze. The moonlight sent red cascading shadows across the state and it would have been beautiful if not confronted by the evil demons of the night. "Arra, Arra come back please." Mr Crepsley was now begging, pleading her to return but again she ignored him.

"You, I thought you had gone." Surprisingly her voice was soft and almost on the verge of a whisper but she held it at a constant tone.

"Arra Sails, I thought you would have aged a little for two hundred years old. Why are you still here? Not to be rude but you should have only lived to be eighty or ninety years old." She grew angrier, her eyes turning red with fury and her face taking on features Larten had never seen before.

"You ruined our family, you did everything you could to turn it to dust and it worked. You hurt me in the biggest way possible and this, this means nothing…nothing!" Throwing the pentagram she had once been given to the floor, it covered with dust and the look on the Vampaneze's face was a picture. "You were never a father, you were a murderer. I became a vampire…I made a vow to hunt you down and to rid your sick, evil presence of the world." He let a cold chuckle escape his lips.

"You turned to the other side. I have to say Arra; I never thought vampires got women to do their dirty work." She bared the dagger tight in her hand, Mr Crepsley catching sight of it.

"Arra, your own father, are you really going to kill your own father?" She stared forwards, never taking her eyes off her Vampaneze father.

"What he is makes no exception to who he is or to what he did. I never forgave you. Mom's blood still stains that bedroom because of what you did. You tore our family apart and for that, I can never forgive you. I lived on the streets for so many years. I was alone, I ate sparsely every night and I cried myself to sleep. I witnessed it, I was eleven years old dad what was I supposed to do?" He remained unspoken, a strange, guilty feeling washing over him. He was a murderer, he did tear their family apart and that did hurt knowing. Despite everything Arra was still his daughter and nothing hurt more than seeing her cry. She still held the dagger tightly, a small fraction of the blade digging into her skin and causing small droplets of crimson liquid to fall and soak into the sand. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kill you now?" She spoke low, a gravely tone mixing in with her regular tone of speaking. "Give me one good reason why I don't rid you of the world right now."

**A/N: **Another Chapter. :D Please review and updates hopefully soon. Thanks to all my reviewers so far and I am glad you're liking it so far. ^_^


	5. Last Hope

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 5- Last Hope **

"I cannot answer that my dear I just cannot." She frowned, grasping it tighter and sending more blood down her fingers.

"Don't you dare call me that." He smiled widely, walking circles around Arra who followed him with her eyes.

"Arra sweetheart, you haven't aged a bit well…I suppose you have. A couple new wrinkles here and there but apart from that you look younger than ever." She glared evilly at him, looks of hate seeping out of her eyes. "Join me Arra; we can make this a family business."

"Go to Hell." Her voice escaped in a broken whisper and soon tears formed in her eyes and began to drip from her lashes, forming perfect drops on the floor. The sun was rising and so Arra and Mr Crepsley considered leaving. "We should go." Again, her words were held in a whisper and she began walking.

"Nothing you did was forgivable." Mr Crepsley squared up to her father, almost nose to nose.

"All I want is her forgiveness." Mr Crepsley pushed him against the wall, threatening to throw a fatal blow.

"You should have thought of that before you killed her mother!" His voice was an angered scream, soon intersected by Arra's soft and pained words.

"Larten let him go. You clearly are wasting your time here; I just wish to go home now." He nodded, releasing her father and linking hands with her.

"Very well but we are not done here." She rested her head on his shoulder and searched for shelter. Her father remained in the upcoming sunlight, watching his distraught daughter disappear into the hills. She cried herself to sleep that morning, sheltered by a small cavern set deep in a mountain. Mr Crepsley wanted to make it better, to tell her that she was safe but right then, he wasn't even sure anymore. Cradling her in his arms, he sighed and laid his head on the ground. He knew that it wouldn't be okay, she was not safe until they got back to the mountain and that was at least a month off. He questioned himself, how long could her safety be confirmed but it was unanswerable and that is why he lay awake and refused to sleep. When night fell again, Arra opened her eyes to the moonlight to find she was alone.

"Larten?" She called, her voice echoing through the mountains. "Larten where are you?" A hand covered her mouth and caused her to squirm, it was only when she caught sight of the orange crop of hair that she calmed down. "Don't do that to me." A sigh of relief escaped her lips as she placed her arms around him and laid her head on his chest.

"Sorry, I was afraid someone would hear you." She nodded, standing up and brushing off her now dirt marked blouse. The cotton like fabric had been a perfect cream when they had started but since then she had been sleeping on rain drenched gravel and grass. "Where are we going now?" He had expected something else, he had expected revenge but she remained silent, tears leaving trails down her face. "Arra, what is wrong?" He asked, wrapping his arms around her.

"There's two of us, there's how many of them? What is the point of fighting a battle we clearly cannot win? I would rather live than perish in senseless battle. We are going to go home." He rested his head on her shoulder and sighed.

"You may not believe it but you are an amazing fighter. Your hometown is in danger. It may be pointless battle but if we do not fight, we could be risking the lives of everyone here. Arra, if you care about me you will grant me one request and please at least let us try. If battle becomes too vital then we withdraw and we retreat back to the mountain." She shook her head.

"Of course I care but that's the problem. If we do go into battle I fear that I may lose it, I may get carried away. Despite everything he is still my father, if I did murder him it would be with a heavy heart and I would regret it for as long as this life will have me." He kissed her cheek and ran a hand through her hair.

"I know you Arra, better than anyone else…you would not lose it. You can control it and I feel that we are America's last hope." She nodded and pulled her dagger from the floor, placing it back in her belt.

"Very well, we start tracking them tomorrow." He followed her out of the cavern into the moonlight. He was right, they were America's last hope and in this life, failure was not an option.

**A/N: **Please review here's another chapter and I hope you likey! :D Thanks to all my reviewers so far.


	6. To be a Murderer

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 6- To be a murderer**

The air was heavy that night and that slowed them down. Still they persevered, they never gave up. The rain had eased off and now it was a mere light drizzle but they were still soaked through. Arra didn't mind because deep down she did want revenge. If not to kill him to make him realise what a sick monster he was. She could still see his evil eyes deepening with red, pulsating hate for her. They were mortal enemies, they always had been. What they did was immoral and it was murder, She still remembered their fight, from when she was seven and she found her mother with a bloody nose and her father baring a fist. He beat her to a pulp to get what he wanted and his only excuse was that it was making a point. He didn't care about them, he cared about himself. He always had and now was here time to play the field a little. The sky still held that red moonlight it had previously and all she wanted was answers. She knew exactly what they were doing there, exactly why they were doing this… for their sick kicks. He knew she was coming back, he knew it all along and all she wanted was to prove him wrong. It was twelve am and Arra and Mr Crepsley wandered up the road, each holding a silver dagger in their hands. The Vampaneze were walking up too, that night was the showdown. Her father was at the front of the gang, baring a large dagger with a silver encrusted handle. Theirs looked feeble towards his but Arra's skills were better. It was a cliffy area and if they edged too far back, they could plummet to their deaths. It was still a fairly old town and the crumbling building really set it off.

"Well, well if it isn't little vampiress." She thinned her eyes to the sexist remark and began to edge forward. It was four against two and the odds of them winning looked slim but as long as they tried, it was the best they could do. It was to kill or to be killed, simple as that and if they were killed, they died together with dignity and pride. "Arra, you could leave, leave this town and leave us here. It would be safer." She gave a cold laugh and gripped the dagger tighter.

"No, that would not be the way of the vampires." He smirked, baring his dagger in his hand tightly. When she caught sight, she surged forwards, hers pointing forwards. This time, she couldn't make the same mistakes as on the bars, she couldn't make feeble blows this time. It wasn't a little play ground fight, it was the real thing and she knew that to survive, she would have to kill her own father but he deserved it didn't he? Sinking her dagger into the soft flesh of a Vampaneze who had been helping, she wiped some blood off it and returned to her fight. She had expected more but maybe they were keeping them hauled up somewhere. She had been thinking too much and before she knew it, she was in the target of a sharp silver blade. It was too late, if she tried to escape, it could easily draw blood and if she stayed out, it would draw blood. At least she tried her hardest but she failed. This is how it felt to be a failure. Arra had never lost a battle, never and before she knew it, he was lowering the blade.

"I'm sorry." Mr Crepsley's voice was a broken whisper and before Arra could respond, he pushed her out of the way. Catching the worst of the blows, he lay on the floor, blood spurting from the wound. She wished she could've tended to him but she had unfinished business to take care off. Sinking both her and Mr Crepsley's blades into the other two Vampaneze, she skewered them full on and then… there were two.

"You fight well for a woman but unfortunately not well enough." He brought down the dagger, only slicing the surface if her flesh so she could easily heal it over. She had to decide weather to follow her mind or her heart. Her mind told her to end it, then and there but her heart reminded her that he was her dad, he had brought her up weather she liked it or not. Even though she was eleven when he left, he still had some love for her. Closing her eyes tightly, she lunged forwards, feeling vast amounts of crimson liquid flow over her arms. She had ended it, killed her own father and she couldn't move that guilty feeling in her gut. He fell on the floor, shaking and spluttering blood. "Ar-Arra, you are a…true vamp-p-pire." She smiled, bringing his hand close to her chest.

"I am so sorry but this is how it feels to be murdered in cold blood." She threw his hand back onto his torso and her words were in a deep snarl. "I never forgave you for what you did." Running to Mr Crepsley's side, she grabbed his hand and searched desperately for a pulse. "Larten, come on don't do this to me." Opening his eyes slightly, he smiled and coughed up a small amount of blood.

"You fought well." He wheezed, channelling most of the pain.

"You were not so bad yourself. Are you okay?" He nodded, watching as Arra rubbed spit around the wound but it didn't have much of an effect. "Hold on Larten, please just hold on." What could she do? She wasn't a doctor, she wasn't trained. What if this was it? What if she had to live with that feeling of guilt? Larten had died for her, could she really let that go? She was as bad as he had been because now she was a murderer and she could never live with that. He was holding on, best he could. He was a fighter, always had been. Every last second, every last breath he cherished. Every last second with Arra, he found to be the best second of his life.

**Mrs Old Gregg: Ooh, interested? I thought so, please review. Next chapter soon, I never keep you waiting do I? :D**


	7. Rewind

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 7- Rewind **

"Larten, Larten please don't do this to me." Her words were in broken whispers and she sustained a low, rushed tone. The blood was flowing freely in great masses and she knew that he didn't have long left in him. He would hold on for as long as he could but when his time came and he was to depart to paradise, it came. There was nothing he could do to stop it from happening, every vampire had his time.

"A-Arra, what happened?" She lightly rubbed his fingers with hers as she held his hand. "Why does it hurt so much?" She let two light tears fall down her cheeks but when his forced smile appeared, she wiped them away. He yelped in pain as he tried to move and another flood of pain washed over him. Calmingly putting a hand on his shoulder, she smiled.

"Stay, do not move just try to remain still." He did as she said and fell into complete stillness. "Larten, I am so sorry. I did not know that…this would happen." He shook his head slowly and sighed, placing a kiss on her hand.

"This is…not your fault." The pain became intense him when he talked but he channelled it and eventually, he became numb to it. Seeing him this hurt broke Arra's heart and all she wanted was to take some of it for him. "Arra, I need you to help me, help me pull through because Seba needs me. I cannot let him down." She squeezed his hand tighter and looked around for help.

"Larten, you are not letting him down. You tried your hardest to fight and it failed a little but look, look at me." His eyes fluttered open and came face to face with Arra. "You are not going to die do you hear me?" He nodded and winced as another flood of pain hit him. She only wished that she believed her words because in all honest she didn't deep down. It was a fatally dangerous wound and the only way he would survive was if they got back to the mountain but they were miles away and it would take months to get back. She would have to take care of the situation. Placing her hands over the wound, she pressed hard on it and continued to rub more and more spit onto the wound. Pulling her closer with the last of his strength, he pressed his lips against hers and whispered in her ear.

"I love you Arra." Then with that his eyes fluttered shut and his heart took the last of its many beats. There was nothing she could do, nothing left to do but marvel in his beauty. Sliding a hand down his cheek, she smiled when his eyes fluttered open again.

"You scared me there." She mused in hope it would lighten the mood.

"It is not my time yet." He smiled, his teeth flooded with blood which was quickly drying. A shadow over came them as she placed her head on his chest, mindful not to skewer her head on the tip of the dagger.

"Looking for me?" She sat up, a horrified expression on her face. Turning around, she gulped loudly and looked from vampire to Tiny. "Oh I know, you blame yourself for this but I can help." She promised herself she wouldn't do this, she wouldn't turn to him. "I can rewind it, you can try once more but again if he fails and if he does die then I am afraid that he will die for good. Arra, I am being nice and not asking for a bargain but I do assure you that it is dangerous and you will have to watch your father die again." It was hard enough the first time but still, she could save one more life that he stole away from here. Nodding her head, she looked back at Mr Crepsley and stood up.

"Okay then, why not? It's worth a try." Tiny smiled grimly and the world seemed to go black. Then they were back at the highway, Mr Crepsley was still holding her in his arms, wishing her luck. Smiling to herself, she whispered in his ear. "Be careful this time." He frowned and pulled away.

"What do you mean 'this time'?" She shook her head and placed it on his chest, pulling him closer into a hug.

"Nothing, it was just a joke." She giggled, her smile wiping off her face when she saw her father. "Father, it doesn't have to be like this. We can go our separate ways, you back to the Vampaneze and we back to the vampires. I just needed you to understand that I do not want to live like this anymore. I don't want to resent my father like this." He shook his head and pulled out a dagger, the same one used to kill Larten previously before his run in with Tiny.

"No, no I am afraid it is too late." She beat him to it and sunk hers deep into her father's purple skin.

"I'm sorry, I offered you a better life but you just couldn't accept it. All I wanted was for us to be like we used to be when I was a child." Pulling her away from her father, Crepsley protectively wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his chest, soaking his black shirt in tears.

"Shh, it is okay now. Arra, I think it best if we just went home do you not agree?" She nodded and pulled away, taking one last look at her dead father.

"I only wanted to help him." She whispered, Mr Crepsley tangling his fingers in with hers.

"I know." He whispered back as they disappeared into the moonlight. She needed Larten more than anything and despite the fact he had been close to death, he had still been there for her. She only wished that Tiny was right, that there wasn't a bargain because Tiny didn't always stick to his word. "Arra, promise me something." She nodded and took his other hand in hers, letting go with the other and running it though his hair.

"Anything." She whispered, her words echoing into the moonlit twilight.

**A/N: **Yeah, another cliff hanger. What will Larten ask of her? You will have to wait and see but hooray, he's alive! Please review as I always ask! :D Thanks.


	8. To Prove I Forgive You

**DISCLAIMER: **I own nothing in this story.

**A/N:** Please review and read! Oh well other way round but you get the point. :D Thanks xx

**SUMMARY:** Arra never told anyone her secret. The secret she held close to her heart. When Larten finds out, he takes her to visit her hometown but in the dark corners of America nothing is ever as it seems. The people of America are dropping like flies and each victim as a scar on their leg and three scratches on their face. Can Larten and Arra stop the murderers before her town falls for good? Before the Darren Shan books, LartenxArra

**TITLE: **Homecoming

**Chapter 8- To Prove I Forgive You**

"When I die or when I lie dying, will you please just let me go? I wish for nothing more than to die peacefully and to die with honour and I see no honour in cheating death." Dropping her gaze, Arra squeezed his hands and frowned.

"I cannot make that promise." She whispered, Mr Crepsley letting her hands go and frowning himself. All she wanted was to help him, was that so bad? He had been close to death and there was no way he would have pulled through. Could she really tell him that she had already broken the only promise he asked of her? "I cannot make it because…" trailing off, she walked a head. "It's difficult." She whispered, walking past him. Letting her walk in front, he spoke no more of the subject apart from inside his head where he questioned her answer over and over. What exactly did she mean by its difficult? Did she mean that she couldn't answer it or that she didn't want to answer it? She knew that his time would come. Some day, somewhere, he would give up and his soul would drift off to paradise but that time was no where near or that's what she hoped anyway. She and he were like a puzzle, when a piece was missing, the whole of the puzzle didn't fit together and that meant it remained unfinished until the missing piece returned. Why was Arra being so cheerless all of a sudden?

"Arra, Arra please just talk to me." Mr Crepsley begged, Arra refusing to meet his eyes.

"I have told you Larten, I do not want to talk of it anymore." She snapped, a feeling of guilt welling in her stomach. She hated feeling like this; she hated knowing what she had done and how wrong it was. It was his life; she shouldn't have taken advantage of the moment.

"Just explain why you will not meet my eyes?" Sighing, she rolled over in the caver, finally meeting his worry filled eyes.

"There, happy?" The feeling of guilt grew bigger in her stomach as she sighed and looked around. "Larten, I am so sorry." Her heart fell at his confused look. If it was only easier to explain, maybe she could tell him exactly how she was feeling but it wasn't that easy to tell him. If only he understood how she felt. "I umm, I made a deal with Tiny when my father stabbed you for a second chance and he granted it. You should be dead." She tried to make her words appear less crude but how could she? It was the truth, the cold heard truth and it would hurt knowing… it would hurt like hell but he needed to know. "Please just say something." Her voice begged him for an answer but he just remained silent, facing the wall. "Larten, I am so, so sorry for what I did." She whispered, tears making their way down her pink cheeks to fall to the floor.

"It is no worry. I know why you did what you did and I do not blame you." He tried to hide the fact that he was disappointed. To him, life was meaningless but he still had hope for death. Arra didn't need that right then so to show he truly had forgiven her, he slid his arms around her waist, holding her close under the moonlight. It was like as spotlight that night and the lightning which licked the sky that night, like stage props. Pulling away, she stared up at him, her eyes glazed over with guilt.

"It isn't okay though, I took advantage of your condition and I shouldn't have. Larten, I don't want you to lie to me and put on this brave face just for me." Pulling her close again, he smiled and pressed his lips against hers.

"There, does that prove that I am no liar?" Nodding, she tangled her fingers in with his as they ambled down the abandoned roads. She knew deep down that he was in fact lying to make her feel better but that didn't matter because it showed that he cared and that was all that mattered. She loved him with all her heart and she only wished that he felt the same. Since they had left the mountain, they had only ever witnessed disaster. He only hoped that the way back was a little different. He didn't know what else he could do to make things up to her. He had done the best he could but it still didn't prove that he had forgiven her which, with all honesty, he hadn't fully. "Arra, you do know that I forgive you don't you?" He had stopped at that point, pulling her back lightly.

"Of course I do." She smiled, leaning up and kissing him once more, stars and the moon luminating the moment like theatre lights. Pulling away from her, he tightened his rip on her hand and led her into the night. It was a long journey back to the mountain and he only hoped that it was as trouble-free as possible.

**A/N: **Unfortunately, this is the last chapter and by unfortunately I mean that I have really loved writing it and I hope that you have loved reading it. Thank you to all my reviewers so far and thank you for taking the time to read.

Mrs Old Gregg

xx


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